CJ

Thursday, January 27, 2011

The morning came around far too quickly after a hot unsettled night. Trouble was I had to do a 10km fartlek run this morning. So fortified with a strong black coffee I headed off at 5.30am into the dark (its starting to get lighter later these days). I hate the first couple of kms - it takes me a while to get into my stride and before that happens it just feels like hard work.

Initially it felt cool and refreshing to be outside but it was only cool compared to the hot house I had just left. It very quickly began to feel hot and humid. hard to believe its Canberra and not the tropics. There was a mad dash home part way through the run thanks to tummy problems but otherwise no problems. Another run done and dusted. No run tomorrow and a 26km run on Saturday.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

I ran 10km yesterday afternoon around Lake Ginninderra. It was hot and I was slow. I was also having tummy problems for the first half of the run so not fun although the second half of the run did improve. I think Mr B passed me on his bike but I can't be sure. Also saw Carolynne out running as well.

There was a toilet stop part way round the lake. I tentatively opened the toilet door hoping there wasn't a big hairy spider sitting on the other side. There is one particular toilet block by the lake which is like a huntsman hideaway, there are so many of them on the wall, on the ceiling, under the washbasin....... But there was no eight legged hairy arachnid hiding on the other side of the door. Though I didn't want to look too closely at the walls - they blend in with the colour scheme and there was one hiding in the corner.

There were quite a few people out running so I wasn't the only silly one. It was one run I was very happy to finish. Then I went for a 4km walk with Mr CJ.

This morning I backed up with a 12km run from home down to the lake and back home again. I wasn't going to be caught doing another run in the heat of the day. It was muggy and overcast when I left home but the cloud had burned off by the time I headed for home and was starting to warm up rapidly.

Note to self: remember to charge Garmin. It died at the turnaround point so I have no idea how long the run took, as I didn't take notice of the time when I left home. It was actually nice running without timing the run, for a change.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Well I did it! I showed up at the speedy geese session at Parliament House last night. It has been a couple of years since I've been there so it was a bit daunting returning because there are so many new people there that I don't know.

And it was a lot of fun! Ok I probably didn't over-exert myself on the hill sprints but there was a very good reason for that - my dodgy hammy really doesn't cope with too many hill sprints at any speed. Still it brought back a lot of memories of running around the tracks, running up those grassy hills and catching up with familiar faces. So yes, I will be back for more!

Monday, January 24, 2011

Saturday was my long run so it was an early start so I could get it over with as I had a busy day ahead. I decided to run over one of my favourite routes which takes me behind Hawker and Cook, through the Aranda bushland and into Black Mt nature park. Its a beautiful run but I had forgotten how hilly it is! Runner's amnesia - a bit like mothers after giving birth! Well I soon discovered how out of condition I am for hill running. What is it they say? What doesn't kill you makes you stronger? Well in that case I will be superwoman by the time the marathon comes around! Or dead!

Anyway I'm glad to do the run early because it warmed up very quickly and I was searching for shade as I ran...er...jogged...er...shuffled along and up as the case may be. I distracted myself by taking in the scenery and the flocks of magpies, parrots, cockatoos and galahs, and saying hi to the occasional walker. Never saw another runner though.

Session: long runDistance: 24kmTime: 2hr 25.35minPace: slow

The best part by far was the coffee I had when I caught up with Strewth, Ewen, Andy and Liz afterwards at the War Memorial. Makes all the pain, the huffing and puffing, the sweatiness and all the thoughts of "why am I doing this" just disappear.

Sunday runNot as early as Saturday's run after all a girls gotta sleep in once in a while, but it was still done before the day got too hot. Nothing to report - very uneventful. I thought of my brekkie the entire way as I was hungry!

Friday, January 21, 2011

Well its been a while but I'm back....again. Please no laying bets on how long this creative phase will last! I will take it blog post by blog post, so it might last one day, one week, one month, or god forbid, one year. But notice - I always come back! I drop in occasionally to say hi.

Anyway, its day 5 of marathon training. If you'd ask me yesterday how I felt I would've said shattered - I felt like I'd been hit by a Mack truck. Hmmm, not good, considering it was only day 4. That's how much out of condition I am with running, despite the fact that I ran the Hobart half marathon not that long ago. I'm indebted to Mick for getting me across the finish line!

I'm training for my 9th Canberra marathon. The original goal was to run 10 Canberra marathons with Strewth and gain Griffin status. The reason for this was because there weren't enough women on the list. But of course with all the kerfuffle that happened last year I'm not sure that the Griffin list even exists anymore. But I will do the 10 Canberra marathons because that was our goal. of course, Strewth, being the speedy goose that she is, does her 10th this year and I'll be cheering her on!!!

This morning the program said 10km with 10 x 1min hill repeats so that is what I did - well I ran 9.65km but that's close enough. I'm still figuring out my new whiz bang Garmin 310XT and I had made a custom workout for the hill repeats but then couldn't figure out how far I had run in total until I had finished the session. Confused? Well, trust me, I couldn't. Another issue I am having with the Garmin is the calculation of calories burnt. Ok it may not seem such an issue for many but I like to know whether I can consume that Magnum classic icecream guilt-free or not! It seems to be calculating a very low figure compared to my old Garmin 301 and the Polar HRM.

Not pretty but its done and dusted. Actually I did do 11 hill repeats because I hit the wrong button (the Stop button rather than the Lap/Reset button) when it came to jogging back down the hill after a repeat. Just some of the issues I have to work through as I become acquainted with my new Garmin.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

One thing I have learnt from Michelle Bridges, my on-line personal trainer extraodinaire, is the mantra JFDI. In other words, suck it up and just do it even if its the last thing you feel like doing. Which is what I had to tell myself at 5am this morning, after a bad night's sleep and the fact that I had been awake since 3am. It was only a short easy run of 6km this morning but I so wanted to stay in bed and not have to go outdoors in the arctic weather but......yep, that's right, I JFDI!

This was my first run post half-marathon. I had run on the treadmill on Tuesday but this was the first time this week I had ventured out into the inhospitable conditions. No-one could question my dedication (or probably more appropriately, madness) to running this morning. Surpisingly I didn't see anyone else braving the weather. I wonder why?! My lips turned blue, my face was numb, I lost the feeling in my feet but I did that run!

Later I met Strewth and Mr B for brekkie at Cream for the most delicious GF fruit toast and fruit salad. Its something I look forward to once a fortnight! That, and the company!

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Woke to a clear, still morning but oh boy, it was chilly. Correction: it was bloody freezing. The fog came in briefly but disappeared just as quickly. I headed down to Stage 88 about 8am, allowing some time for the necessary toilet stop and cursory run around the paths, loosely called a warm up, except I didn't warm up. Then the layers had to come off - the tracky pants, the long sleeved top, the fleecy jacket, the looser, lighter jacket. This left me in running shorts and singlet (cue flashback to a song from the 70's - The Streak, when streaking was all the rage).

For the first 5km of the run I could not feel my fingers or toes, and my eyes were streaming from the cold. The things we do. I settled into a steady pace, which averaged between 4.45 - 4.55min/km, and took in my surroundings, enjoying the view. Occasionally I would pass other runners and they, in turn, would pass me. Spoke briefly to Charlie who passed me and then I passed a little later. Jen took off after a couple of kms never to be seen again by me for the duration of the run, only to find out afterwards that she wasn't that far ahead of me at the finish.

Feeling gradually returned to my extremities as I warmed up. I was enjoying the run. All was good. I ran the second half of the event slightly faster, about 1min 37sec faster in total, so a negative split of sorts. I also felt strong and comfortable the entire way, without verging into the uncomfortable zone. So all in all, very happy with the run. Okay, maybe I could've gone slightly faster and got under the magical 100mins but there's always a next time...isn't there?!

And to top off a great run, I came first in my age group! Definitely nothing wrong in having macarons the day before!

Speedy Geoff& Jen Runs: thanks for the welcome back!Ewen: I'm at a loose end now that Masterchef has finished! Can't you tell!